


New Moon

by chunni



Series: Moon Series [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bruce Wayne Has Issues, Dick Grayson Tries To Resolve Them, Established Relationship, First Time, Going from fluff to angst to smut quite quickly, Kissing, Lots of kissing, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Secret Identity, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 23:44:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18679720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chunni/pseuds/chunni
Summary: November 11th. Dick’s eighteenth birthday.Between becoming an adult, racing the sun and helping a little girl, he might be able to convince Bruce to update their relationship.





	New Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This got a lot longer than I intended at first. I'm not sure about some aspects but in the end they're all more or less necessary... so please tell me what you think :)  
> (I also don't often write smut, so I'm still experimenting a bit)
> 
> I also have some more ideas for this AU, so maybe I'll write more OS's in the future...

**New Moon**

~

~

~

 _“Oh, Bruce_ ,” Dick gasped between kisses. His hands were resting on Bruce’s shoulders holding onto him like a lifeline. There were hot waves surging through his body, seemingly able to burn the fabric of his shirt. He was torn between wanting to rip it off himself and wanting to keep his hands on Bruce’s body. No easy choice, especially with the dizziness of his mind that threw around all logical thoughts.

He felt Bruce’s fingers trailing along the line of his back and to his waist resting right on the bit of naked skin between the shirt and the jeans Dick was wearing. It should have been easy for him to let his hands slide between the fabric. _C’mon_ , Dick thought. _Just do it_.

Of course, Bruce didn’t do it.

Instead he pulled his head and hands away and took a step backwards. Dick stumbled when his fingers lost their grip, his heart skipping a beat.

“ _Wha-_?!”, he began but Bruce made him halt by shaking his head.

“I should have been on my way to the charity gala for,” a quick glance at the rolex glimmering at his wrist, “half an hour.” Bruce lifted one corner of his mouth to a half smile. It was probably meant to be apologetic, nonetheless, Dick felt his heart sinking.

He took a deep breath forcing himself to grin, even though he knew that it wouldn’t reach his eyes. “Well, I don’t want to hold you back,” he said shrugging, the words like sour milk in his mouth.

When Bruce didn’t turn but looked at him, his eyes roaming over his face with an unreadable expression, Dick crossed his arms and raised a brow. He would have said something if Bruce hadn’t averted his eyes a second later.

“I’ll see you then,” Bruce murmured straightening his jacket and the bow tie that had loosened halfway during the last fifteen or so minutes. Dick felt the urge to step forward and help but he figured that Bruce wouldn’t want him to. There was also a part of him that didn’t _want_ to help. The part that wanted everyone to know what Bruce had been doing, what _they_ had been doing.

Dick couldn’t help but sigh when he watched Bruce leaving the room.

The last year had been marked by a series of the same slightly varied sentences. Whenever their make-out sessions had gotten a bit more intense or whenever anyone other than Alfred could have been taking even the tiniest peek at them in a compromising situation, it had been the same. _You’re too young, We’ll have to wait, It’s too soon to make it official, I don’t want to take advantage of you,_ or, Dick’s personal favourite, _I don’t want you to be in danger because of our connection._

He rolled his eyes. As if it weren’t dangerous to walk the streets of Gotham as Batman’s sidekick at night already. He could’ve died countless times, a small relationship upgrade wouldn’t change anything.

Bruce didn’t agree obviously… at least for now.

Dick felt the smile recurring, a genuine one this time.

He’d waited long enough but tomorrow was November 11th, his birthday. Tomorrow, he’d be eighteen and officially an adult. Bruce wouldn’t be able to make up excuses anymore. He had promised that it would be a turning point, no limits and no secrets.

And Dick would make damn sure that he would keep his promise.

~ 

He woke up at 6 o’clock. 

It was Saturday, so it wouldn’t have been necessary to get up that early but in the end, he did. He had tried to close his eyes once more but his heart had been speeding up as soon as he’d realised what day it was making it impossible to fall asleep again.  

When he checked his phone, there were already lots of messages of people congratulating him. He didn’t even know how some of them got his number but his heart warmed up at every nice word. He didn’t write back, though, not yet. There was only one person he wanted to spend the day with, one person he needed to talk to. And maybe more…

His muscles tensed as he jumped out of the bed to shower but there also was a grin forming on his face.  _Here we go..._  

~

Dick narrowed his eyes as he observed the clothes in his wardrobe. It took him a lot longer than usual to find something to wear, so long that his hair had almost dried entirely. Somehow every shirt he liked before had transformed into something tasteless and unwearable, not to mention the trousers. 

He put away the striped sweater with a frown before pausing. He should wear something that Bruce liked on him, right? Something to emphasise the best parts of his body.  

He had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. It would have been nice to know what Bruce considered the best parts of his body. As it was, he had never gone into detail about it. 

For a second Dick considered doing a few push-ups before dressing but he didn’t want to appear too desperate. He should be smooth, charismatic and mature. He should be a gentleman that could make anyone fall for him with just the twitch of a brow.  _Like Bruce._  

After all, he was eighteen, right? 

He exhaled the breath he had been holding deciding on a pair of tight jeans that had gotten him quite a lot of compliments the last time he’d worn it. He also found a matching button-down that wouldn’t appear over the top looking less expensive as it was. 

His pursed his lips when he observed himself in the mirror turning to the sides to get a better look. He wasn’t entirely sure about the outfit but at least he felt comfortable. 

He shrugged his shoulders. After all, it didn’t matter what clothes he wore when they would end up on the floor anyway. 

~ 

“Happy Birthday, Dick.”

Dick’s eyes flew over the table occupied by small presents and envelopes wrapped in shimmering white but it wasn’t long before his gaze lifted, his steps accelerated, his heart jumped. There were things he wanted to discuss, things _they_ needed to discuss but it was so easy to postpone these things, at least for now.

Bruce smiled at him but the smile couldn’t last as their lips met a second later.

It was no hard kiss, there was no rush or hastily applied pressure. There was the softness of Bruce’s lips as they melted against his as if they were two pieces of a puzzle. The warmth of the hand cupping his cheek, tilting his head gently was almost able to rival the warmth spreading through his body. Dick wanted to sigh, his thoughts floating astray but the kiss ended as quickly as it had begun.

Blinking he realised that Bruce wasn’t looking at him anymore but at something _or someone_ behind his back. He turned around, his skin prickling even before he knew what he would be facing.

“Happy Birthday, Master Richard,” said Alfred with a sparkle in his eyes that could only be described as playful.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen them kissing already but, nevertheless, Dick had to fight the heat in his face. Running his hand through his hair he grinned hoping that it would overshadow the change of skin colour.

It was only then that he noticed the reason for Alfred not having been already in the room.

The cake that Alfred placed on the table next to the presents was covered with wavy rows of light blue frosting and blueberries in the centre. Dick didn’t need to count the small candles stuck in a circle to know that there would be eighteen of them.

“Thanks, Alfred,” he said before pulling him into a hug. Could you get cramps from smiling too much? Maybe he’d find out throughout the day. It didn’t seem as if the corners of his mouth would be dropping anytime soon. “I guess I need to squeeze in another training session within the near future…”

He raised a brow turning around with a smirk. “You wanna join me, Bruce?”

“Well, I have to if I don’t want you to outdo me, hm?” Bruce shook his head lightly. “But not now. Unless you don’t want to know what’s in there?” He gestured to the presents.

Dick rolled his eyes. He was tempted to refuse out of spite but curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards the packages. His heartbeat quickened as he opened the first envelope.

Bruce sat down next to him, his gaze trailing the movement of Dick’s hands.

“I should probably let you know that your actual present was slightly too big for the table.”

Dick frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

~

 _Bruce didn’t lie_ , Dick thought. 

The car standing in front of the manor looked like something straight out of _The_   _Fast and The Furious_. And it  _was_  big. 

With the black metal shimmering in the sun it looked as if it had never seen a speck of dirt before, not to mention the lithe and gently curved silhouette. Dick’s breath caught in his throat. For a moment he thought the air vibrated around this monster of a car as if it couldn’t stand still, as if it didn’t want to. As if it didn’t care that it was only a machine.  

It oozed power and energy like a lightning in a storm. He could almost hear the motor thundering to life already and his heartbeat sped up. 

“The salesman said it’s a ‘track animal let loose on the road’. I trust you to tame it.” A soft chuckle. “I also let Lucius Fox adjust it a bit but don’t try to test its limits inside the city.” 

“Wow, Bruce,” Dick managed to murmur even though he didn’t know how his mind was able to form the words when it didn’t even fully comprehend the sight in front of him. He gulped. “I don’t know what to say.” 

There were a few seconds of silence in which he wondered whether the car would disappear if he touched its metal. It couldn’t be real, could it? 

“You... don’t like it?” 

Dick forced his eyes to wander away from their shiny target meeting Bruce’s gaze. He watched as a shadow flashed through his face and Dick shook his head before Bruce could fall farther into this wrong impression. 

“You’re kidding, right?”, he grinned. “I like it. I  _love_  it, dumbass. Let’s get this bad boy on the road.” 

He walked towards the car, the keys from one of the packages ready in his hand. It was only when he opened the door to the driver’s seat that he noticed that Bruce hadn’t moved, his arms crossed.  

“What are you waiting for? I wouldn’t want to take the first ride without you.” 

~ 

It _did_ sound like an approaching thunderstorm when Dick started the motor, foot resting on the clutch. The leather of the seat felt cool to his back and he took a deep breath before shifting into the first gear.

Releasing the brake, he wanted to pull away but somehow his gaze wandered to his left. His heart leaped as he followed the sharp features of Bruce’s profile, the freshly shaved jawline, the combed back black hair. So handsome, so charming.

 _Bruce_. His soulmate.

Most of the time he still couldn’t believe it. There had been times where they had been lying on the couch, Dick’s head on Bruce’s chest. Times where Bruce didn’t wear a watch to hide his, to hide _their_ mark and Dick had snatched his arm to trace the crescent moon ingrained in the skin with light fingertips. Times where he compared it silently to his own, saving the picture in his mind. To make sure that they really were alike, that _they_ really were soulmates. 

He’d never found any differences.

Still, there was a part of him that feared the future. He remembered that day over a year ago, the day he got his soulmark, like yesterday. He knew that Bruce had been concerned and he knew that there was a part of Bruce that was concerned even now.

Dick didn’t want to admit it but beneath all his excitement about his eighteenth birthday, there was also a pang of fear. Fear that Bruce wouldn’t be ready to go public with their relationship, that he’d never be.

Dick didn’t want to hide anymore.

“Don’t you want to drive?”, Bruce asked turning his head, a brow raised, and thereby dragging Dick out of his thoughts.

Yeah, he should. He would. Right after…

Breathing in Dick leaned forward reaching out a hand to let it rest against Bruce’s neck pulling him closer. Dick watched as his eyes widened and there was a rush of satisfaction knowing that he’d surprised Bruce. He pressed their lips together, his heartbeat accelerating. For a second there were sparks spreading through his body, the parts of their jointed skin tickling with warmth.

In the next second the car jumped forwards and his head met the interior mirror.

“Dammit.” He fell back grabbing the steering wheel, pulling away his foot that had somehow found its way to the gas and slamming the brakes.

Trying to get his breath and his racing heart under control he felt his cheeks heating up. _Dammit_. He had to resist the urge to close his eyes and rub his aching forehead, almost wishing he hadn’t invited Bruce to come with him. His skin prickled and not in a pleasant way. So much for appearing mature and smooth!

Maybe he hurried a bit too much to start the car again, this time pulling away with more care than he’d ever given.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” he muttered, still fighting the burning of his face and still not looking into Bruce’s direction. “I actually think you should better forget about it as soon as possible.”

There was only a soft chuckle answering him.

~

Dick didn’t know how far he drove, or how long.

It didn’t take them much time to leave the city behind. Cold stonewalls gave way to trees and meadows, skyscrapers were replaced by loosely scattered houses, and more weight fell of his body, of his heart the farther the distance to Gotham grew.

Sometime after him drifting around corners, challenging the speed limit and racing the sun itself, Bruce mentioned that, maybe, they should turn around now.

Dick sighed but did as Bruce wished.

Until he slowed down the car, a few kilometres still separating them from the city.

When he turned right following a smaller street instead of staying on the main road, he noticed Bruce’s frown out of the corners of his eyes. When he came to a halt a few minutes later parking the car in front of a vast forest, Bruce’s mouth opened.

Dick cut him off before he could say anything.

“I don’t want to return to Gotham yet.” He buttoned his jacket before opening the driver’s door and stepping outside. _I don’t want to be forced to pretend. I don’t want you to hide behind responsibilities._ “Let’s go for a walk.”

“I don’t think we wear the right clothes for a walk in November,” Bruce murmured but got out despite his words. There were two short beeps when Dick locked the car.

“I think the _Dynamic Duo_ will survive a bit of cold.”

In Gotham, most of the leaves of the trees had already fallen to the ground but the pines and firs spreading across the earth around them looked as green and rigid as always. With the sun rays falling through the clouds and branches it almost appeared to be spring. The freezing wind contradicted this thought, though.

Dick suppressed a shudder and reached out a hand to Bruce.

It didn’t escape his notice that Bruce’s eyes flickered around as if making sure that nobody else was near them, that nobody could see them. He felt his heart twisting inside his chest, his lungs contracting. It shouldn’t have taken him so long but Bruce sighed a second later taking Dick’s hand, his thumb gently running over the skin, and Dick could breathe again.

With their hands entangled the wind didn’t feel as chilling anymore. The corners of his mouth rose to a smile, even though there was a tension in his muscles that he didn’t want to confront.

They walked silently for a few minutes.

The trees surrounded them in an embrace that grew tighter with every step they took, the wind whistling between twigs and leaves. The silence of the wild nature was only silent when you’re used to the roaring of motors and the gibbering voices of townspeople.

As it was, Dick’s own thoughts drowned out every exterior noise. He didn’t want to be the one to start this conversation but it seemed as if he were the only one who could do it. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

“Bruce,” he wet his lips, “Can we pause for a second?”

Bruce froze. It must have been evident what kind of conversation would follow. Dick could feel it in the way his hand clenched around his own fingers, in the way a shadow fell over his face almost instantly, even when Bruce tried to keep his posture.

Dick didn’t let go of Bruce’s hand, maybe he wouldn’t even be able to. However, he took a step to the side locking their eyes and facing him.

“I’m eighteen.”

Bruce’s jaw tensed. “I know,” he said. “I’d thought it was obvious but I do know when your birthday is.”

“Then you also know that you don’t need to wear that watch anymore. At least not on _that_ wrist.” Dick’s eyes narrowed slightly and he straightened himself. The wind blew a strand of hair across his face but he almost didn’t notice it.

“I let you know that I won’t do it anymore. Wearing a watch, I mean. Or wearing anything else on my mark to hide it. You’ve said we wait until I’m eighteen and now, we’re here, and I won’t do it anymore.”

He paused for a second watching Bruce who had become more tense with every word, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something he wasn’t sure of yet. In the end, he stayed quiet.

“I won’t hide something that matters to me anymore. I won’t hide something that I’m proud of anymore.” Dick’s heart leaped inside his chest.

“And I hope that you won’t either,” he added, his voice more hesitant than he’d expected.

The tremble of Bruce’s lips stopped, the whole movement of his muscles stopped. At least until he spoke.

“I see.” He closed his eyes just a moment too long to be blinking. “You know… it isn’t that easy. Yes, it sounds easy when you say it like that but-“

“No but’s. You promised me.”

Dick shook off his hand. He pressed his palm against Bruce’s mouth preventing any new words from leaving, warm breath against his skin but he couldn’t focus on that. When he was sure that Bruce wouldn’t try to continue he reached for his wrist opening the clasp of the rolex with heavy fingers.

He felt as if he were running a marathon but his heartbeat was weirdly slow, agonisingly so.

When he let the watch dangle in front of Bruce’s face, the metal almost touching his nose, he felt cold again.

“It’s easy, you see. _Look_. Look how easy it is.”

Bruce’s eyes roamed over the object narrowing but he made no move to retrieve it. The seconds trickled by without a word, the only noise the wind crying through the forest.

Or was it the wind?

Dick realised it in the same moment as Bruce’s face distorted into a frown.

“That’s a child,” Dick whispered. Sure enough, as soon as the words fell out of his mouth every doubt floated away. That couldn’t be the wind, it sounded too sad, too desperate, too _human_. He let the watch slip into his pocket, his heart quivering.

“Why is there a child crying in this forest?”, Bruce murmured but Dick didn’t listen anymore.

He was already running towards the direction the noise was coming from.

~

The little girl wore a scarlet coat although it now had green specks of earth and leaves on it, clearly arisen from her sitting against the trunk of an unusually large pine tree. With the blond ringlets curling to her shoulders, with the pink bow in her hair she looked like she would have been a happy child, had it not been for the tears streaming down her cheeks like never-ending raindrops.

Dick’s glance flickered around searching for any signs of danger. When he couldn’t find any, a weight fell off his chest. _She’s probably lost_ , he thought.

He forced himself to smile, even though he hardly remembered any incident where he’d felt further from it. When he knelt down in front of her, he tried to push away any thought that didn’t concern him helping the child.

“Hello, little lady,” he said and soon enough the hands rubbing across her face halted before sinking to the earth. The crying decreased to slow sobs until it disappeared entirely when her eyes widened, round like plates, blinking, focusing on him.

“Mommy says I mustn’t talk to strangers,” she managed, voice high and rough.

“Well, I…,” Dick began, pausing as he searched for words that wouldn’t let him look like a paedophile. His heart leaped when an idea shot through his mind. “I’m actually no stranger.”

He leaned forward lowering his voice as if sharing a secret that no one else was worthy to guard. “Do you know Batman and Robin?”

Her brown eyes, still big and confused, lit up at his words before she gave a small nod.

“Can you keep a secret?”, Dick whispered even quieter. This time, her nod was more enthusiastic and the shadow of a smile danced over her face.

Dick inhaled tilting his head to either side as if making sure that no one else was listening to their conversation. Only then, he breathed the words.

“I’m Robin.”

How was it possible that her eyes widened even more? But they did, as did the smile appearing on her face, though, not for long.

“You don’t look like Robin. Robin wears a mask,” she said pursing her lips.

“Well, I’m on an undercover mission,” Dick murmured, thoughts and ideas flying through his mind. “This forest isn’t safe. There are… some crazy scientist experimenting on poison to destroy it and all of its beings. I need to evacuate the area… would you know if there are any other people in this forest by chance?”

She believed him. Dick saw it in the way her fingers clenched around the rim of her coat, the way she straightened herself, the way she bit her lip before speaking.

“Mommy’s still around here. We went for a walk and I only watched this squirrel for a second. Really only for a second. But when I turned around, she was gone!” Dick saw new tears building in the corners of her eyes and hurried to answer.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find her and you two can leave together. There’s enough time. I help you, I promise.”

She blinked the tears away. “Pinky promise?”

“Sure.” Resisting the urge to chuckle Dick raised a hand to lightly hook her finger. “Pinky promise.”

This time, the smile on her face stayed.

Dick grinned extending his other hand. “I think you’ll get a better overview from higher above. May I carry you, Milady?”

“You’re right,” the girl said reaching out, maybe only because she didn’t want to walk anymore.

It wasn’t difficult to lift her upwards with her probably weighing less than the fat cat he’d encountered a few nights ago in a dark alley of Gotham. Though, he did wince a bit when her hand grasped at the back of his head for support, thereby ripping out a few strands of hair. When she didn’t move anymore he started to walk.

“Alright. Let’s go looking for her.”

“Looking for whom?”, a voice asked. A familiar voice. Almost as familiar as his own.

“You did take your time following me, hm?”, Dick muttered without turning around, his heart jumping, his smile crumbling. He also didn’t _need_ to turn around as Bruce caught up with him a second later appearing in the corner of his eye.

His eyes were narrowed, his jaw tensed, and Dick knew that it was only the girl that prevented them from arguing about the last minutes. Thinking of her…

“Who’s that?”, she whispered inside his ear, her breath tickling his skin.

Dick gulped, his body almost freezing at the words. It took him too long but he finally managed to open his mouth.

“He’s my… friend,” he said, his gaze crossing Bruce’s for a second. If he hadn’t known better he’d thought that there was a flicker of pain in his eyes.

“He looks sad…,” the girl breathed and Dick felt his heart twisting. He wanted to say something but she continued a second later, a change of topic that was so unexpected that Dick needed a few moments to comprehend _what_ exactly she had said.

“ _Oh_ , that’s your soulmark, right?” Her hand brushed his wrist, a certain spot that he hadn’t thought of at all in the last minutes.

“Mommy told me everything about soulmarks, you know. And yours is _so_ pretty! I hope I’ll get one like yours someday…”

Dick’s tongue felt heavy inside his mouth but somehow he managed to speak without his voice cracking.

“I’m sure yours will be even prettier.” He gulped, muscles tense. “Hey, do you know where you’ve seen your Mommy the last time?”

She straightened herself at his question holding onto his shoulder to push herself higher before looking around the forest. Dick resisted the urge to glance at Bruce and pressed the girl to his chest to make sure that she wouldn’t fall through his hands.

“There, the tree that’s all overgrown with moss. That’s where I’ve seen the squirrel,” she said, _of course_ pointing in a direction somewhere behind Bruce.

Dick turned locking his eyes with Bruce’s for just a second. There was something dancing through them but he didn’t want to think about it, couldn’t think about it. There was a pang in his chest when he averted his glance, somehow lowering it just enough to capture the mark on Bruce’s wrist.

The wrist without a watch, without a ribbon or something similar. Why couldn’t it be always like this? Couldn’t Bruce see what it meant to their relationship, what it meant to _him_?

Maybe she’d followed his glance, maybe she’d only been looking for her mother and had caught it accidentally. Whatever it was, it caused her to squeak in surprise, fingers clenching around the fabric of his jacket.

“ _You’re soulmates!_ ” Dick froze at the same time as Bruce. “He has your mark, right? It’s the same… that means you’re soulmates, right? Isn’t it so? _Robin_?”

Dick couldn’t speak, eyes wide and unblinking. He felt as if there were a candle in his chest, its flame flickering as if it could burn out anytime leaving nothing but darkness. There was a lump in his throat growing with every second, suffocating him a little more with every word. He didn’t know if he’d be able to open his lips, move any muscle really.

In the end, he didn’t need to. Because Bruce could.

Bruce walked forwards with steps that didn’t seem heavy, that didn’t seem forced or hesitant. When he clasped Dick’s hand, the one that wasn’t holding the girl, his skin warm and soft, Dick felt the lump dissolving.

“You’re right,” Bruce said, at first slowly, then firmer, more certain with every word, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I’m his soulmate… and I couldn’t be happier about it. I couldn’t be prouder. You’ve probably noticed it already but he is a great guy… strong, smart, funny, handsome… the best. The only one I’d want to be my soulmate.”

Dick felt his mouth gaping slightly, his face heating up. With the patches of red on his cheeks he probably looked like a clown, more so when a grin formed on his face, warmth rushing through his body.

He was ready to say something when a different voice rang through the woods.

“Holly?! Holly, dear, where are you?! Dear?! _Holly_?!”

“Mommy?!”

About a hundred metres away from them a woman in her forties ran up a hill, her chestnut-coloured coat flying in the wind, her head overflowing with familiar blond ringlets. Even at this distance Dick noticed when she froze as the voice of her daughter echoed through the air. Even at this distance Dick could watch the shadows fall off her face, the worried wrinkles. She rubbed away some sparkling tears that had run down her cheeks before hurrying towards them, almost floating above the ground.

It didn’t take her long to arrive in front of them.

“Oh, _Holly_ , my girl,” she sobbed, almost incomprehensible. Her hands trembled when she reached out to take Holly out of Dick’s arms but the tremble stopped as soon as she pressed her daughter against her chest. Her eyes fluttered shut when she kissed Holly’s forehead making her grimace.

Dick smiled, his heart warming up as he watched this mother with her child that she’d thought lost. _This_ was why he went out at night to fight criminals. The possibility to help people, to bring a spark of happiness in their life.

It was only then that the woman lifted her head, blinking, focusing on them with a hesitant smile. “Y-you...” She gulped breathing in shakily. “You found my daughter. I… I don’t know what I can do to thank you… _my god_ , I’d thought I’d never see her again. Thank you, _oh_ , thank you!”

She looked like she’d break out in tears at any moment for a second time.

“Well, it’s always a pleasure to help,” Dick said wetting his lips. “I’m glad nothing happened to her. It can be quite dangerous in such empty forests.”

Holly turned her head to look at him, eyes widening and probably remembering what Dick had told her.  She didn’t say something at first but her lips mouthed the word _dangerous_ far too obvious. With her being safe and reunited with her mother he almost felt bad that he had lied to her, even if it had been for her own good. _Hm, maybe there_ are _some crazy scientists in this forest_ , shot through his mind and he smirked, _you can never be sure with a city like Gotham_.

“Let’s go home, Mommy,” Holly insisted, voice urging.

“Alright, alright,” her mother murmured rubbing away the last tears before facing Dick and Bruce again. “I’d really like to show my gratitude. This situation… it could have ended so much worse…maybe…” She reached into her pocket pulling something out. It was revealed to be a peach-coloured business card when she held it into the sun.

“My name’s Linda Johnson. I run a small café at the periphery of Gotham. I’d gladly pay your order if you visited us,” she said. In the next second, there was a sparkle dancing through her eyes and she winked. “By the way, we also do candlelight dinners.”

It was only then that Dick realised that he was still holding hands with Bruce. His skin began to prickle but not in a bad way, rather in a _I’ve-never-been-in-this-situation-but-it-feels-kinda-good_ way. It felt warm. It felt right.

“We’ll think about it.” Bruce snatched the card letting it disappear in his pocket in a fluent motion.

“Thank you,” Linda said before frowning. “Excuse me, do I know you? You seem somehow familiar…”

“I get that a lot but, no, we’ve never met.” Bruce smiled, even though Dick felt him tensing. However, Linda didn’t press further.

“Oh,” she breathed. “Well, thank you in any case. Thank you both. I hope we’ll meet again.”

She gave them a last smile before turning around to walk away. Holly looking over her shoulder waved as if she wanted to generate a storm.

“I also hope we meet again, Ro-.” She bit her lip. “Eh, really soon.”

Dick grinned waving back with the hand that wasn’t captured by Bruce. When he winked at her, her face lit up, maybe even flushing a bit.

“Now, all we can hope for is that she won’t recognise you on TV,” Bruce muttered next to him but without real anger, voice low enough to be out of earshot to the Johnson’s.

“I’m not that much on TV, Mr Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises,” Dick smirked giving his hand a light squeeze. “I’m surprised that Linda didn’t recognise _you_.”

“Well…” Bruce inhaled, breath somehow shaky and Dick threw a quick glance sideways to see his lips trembling. “You’ll be much more on TV when I announce that we’re soulmates.”

Dick held his breath, his eyes widening as he turned to search Bruce’s face for any signs that he hadn’t said what Dick thought he’d said. “You mean…?”

“I’ll do the statement,” Bruce murmured. “As soon as we’re back in Gotham.”

There was a smile dancing across his face, even though Dick saw the tension still lingering in the corners. The tension that revealed how much of an effort it was to say these words, how much of an effort it still would be to go through with it.

“Thank you,” Dick whispered, his heart warming up. “That’s the best present you could make me.”

~

“I’d almost thought you wouldn’t do it,” Dick murmured watching Bruce sending away the last emails concerning his _relationship to Richard John Grayson_. He climbed over the back of the couch to let himself fall next to him. “I’m still not sure if you won’t delete them later while I sleep.”

Bruce snorted. “You really don’t trust me at all, hm?”

“Maybe I’m just testing you?” Dick raised a brow before breaking into a smile. “For now, it looks like you’re passing, though.”

Bruce chuckled, the sound warm and joyful, until it trickled away leaving an empty sigh. When he leaned to the side, their shoulders brushing against each other, their hands entangled themselves like a natural consequence.

“It somehow… scares me, you know?”, Bruce whispered. “The future, the people against me, against you, against us, the reality we’re facing… being who I am… sometimes I feel like it’s all slipping from my grasp, like it’s too much to handle. Like there’s always more to come, more to confront, more problems to solve… and I don’t feel like it’s getting better anytime soon.”

When Dick looked at him, Bruce’s face twisted into a frown before he shook his head lightly. His other hand rose to rub the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you that,” he growled. “I shouldn’t-“

“Hey, Bruce, it’s alright, okay?” Dick moved to kneel in front of him grabbing his hand and pulling it back to make Bruce look at him. He waited until his eyes focused, the pupil widening slightly, until the darkness dissolved to light shadows. Dick smiled, even though he felt like something was squeezing his heart together.

“It’s alright.” He inhaled slowly still locking his gaze with Bruce’s. “We can do this. I’m here and I’m staying and _we can do this_. We’ll do it together, like always. It’s what we are, hm? Batman and Robin, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Together. You don’t have to be alone and you shouldn’t have to be. You-”

He was cut short when Bruce pressed their lips together.

Dick froze in surprise but it didn’t take him long to melt into the kiss, his eyes fluttering shut. There was a surge of heat running through his body when he felt a hand cupping his cheek, grabbing his chin a second later. It wasn’t pulling, not really, maybe only there to tilt his head, but he couldn’t sit on the floor when the alternative was so much better. 

He opened his eyes reaching for Bruce’s shoulders to pull himself upwards, closer. To press Bruce against the back of the couch, to let himself fall against him, his legs on either side of Bruce’s body.   

In this position it was easy to deepen the kiss, to increase the pressure just a bit more, in search for contact, in search for heat.  

Bruce’s hand left his face to travel downwards running over his back and to his side. When it slipped beneath Dick’s shirt burning the naked skin it touched, Dick gasped against Bruce’s mouth, a shiver trailing down his spine.  

He tilted his head running his tongue over Bruce’s upper lip, nipping lightly at it. When he breathed in there was a scent of sweat but also Bruce’s aftershave, somehow minty, and something he couldn’t comprehend and maybe that was what made him dizzy, made his thoughts float away, made his body burning. Maybe it was all together.  

“Touch me, Bruce,” he rasped pressing himself closer. “Come on, I know you want it...”  

When their gazes met, the expression in Bruce’s eyes alone made him bite back a moan, a fire dancing through them that might ignite his very soul. 

Bruce straightened himself, so quickly that Dick would have lost his hold if he hadn’t clenched his fingers around the fabric of Bruce’s shirt. When he felt Bruce’s hand leaving his back only to cup his ass, his heart skipped a beat, the touch burning his skin as if there weren’t the jeans between them. He couldn’t deny that it felt good, too good, so good that he wished there were no clothes between them. He felt his face heat up at the same as Bruce opened his mouth and the words only made his blush worse.  

“You really  _are_  asking for it, hm?”, he whispered, voice low and rough and  _perfect_. 

“Maybe I am,” Dick breathed against Bruce’s lips giving them a peck. At another time he would have wondered where he had got the courage to say  _that_. But he didn’t care, not now, not when Bruce’s eyes lit up so beautifully.  

Dick inhaled, breath raspy, the air thick and vibrating around them, and his hands ran down to Bruce’s chest to open the buttons of his shirt. His fingers were clumsy, his grip shuddering but he managed to get them halfway open until something stopped him. Bruce’s hands curled around Dick’s wrists. 

“W-what do think... you’re doing?” There was a shakiness in his voice that couldn’t be from anger. The fire in his eyes, the soft flush across his face, they left no doubt. Dick knew it and some part of Bruce had to know it too.  

Being half hard already Dick was torn between screaming something that probably wouldn’t make Bruce continue and doing something that probably wouldn’t make Bruce continue either. He tried pulling his hands back to free them but Bruce only tightened his grip and Dick’s stomach fluttered at the increased contact. It almost seemed as if his soulmark was burning too. He swallowed hard trying to get some sense back before narrowing his eyes. _I’m not giving up so easily, Bruce!_  

He’d tried pulling but there was always the other way.  

He reached forwards and Bruce, too surprised to react, couldn’t hinder him from pressing his palm against the bulge of his jeans.  

Bruce moaned at the same moment as Dick felt the grip around his wrists loosening and he couldn’t suppress the shadow of a grin that danced across his face.  

“Look, I’m just helping you get rid of that unfashionable shirt,” Dick purred, heat rushing through inflamed veins. He gave Bruce’s hardening cock a gentle squeeze before going back to opening the buttons. 

This time, with Bruce trying to regain his normal breathing, he got through and his heart leaped when the last button slipped through revealing Bruce’s naked chest. He saw defined muscles rising with every breath, interrupted by pale scars and halfway healed bruises, some more prominent than others, and somehow they made him even more beautiful.

Dick felt his mouth run dry. Although he’d often seen Bruce half naked, it felt different now. Probably because it  _was_  different. His thoughts wanted to float away and maybe that was why he didn’t realise what Bruce was doing until it was too late. 

Dick was sitting on top of him until he wasn’t. It took Bruce only a few seconds to pull him to the side and in the next moment Dick found himself pressed against the cushions of the couch with his back. 

Bruce looked down at him, black hair messy, or messy enough to support the flush of his cheeks. He shrugged his open button-down off in a motion that seemed almost accidental and the white garment fell to the floor. 

Dick wanted to lift his upper body but a hand on his chest held him back. His breath caught in his throat when Bruce leaned over him closing the distance between them until his lips hovered over his cheek.  

Dick shivered, almost feeling the contact already and resisting the urge to pull a face when Bruce’s lips didn’t touch him but moved to the side, to his ear. 

“That wasn’t really fair, was it?”, Bruce whispered, his breath tickling Dick’s skin, his body warmth radiating against him, and Dick’s eyes fluttered shut, the words floating through his mind. He couldn’t bring himself to do something, not to mention saying something.  

A second later he felt Bruce tensing. “Answer honestly. Do you... want this?” 

Dick’s eyes opened as if someone had hit him, his gaze meeting Bruce’s. Looking into his eyes he saw too many emotions twirling in them to name, the blue dark and cloudy. He tried to gulp despite his dry mouth, his tongue heavy.  

“I do. I want it, Bruce, please,” he begged. “I want you.” 

Bruce’s chest rose, the muscles moving under his skin as he sighed. When the sigh evolved into a low, raspy growl, the sound vibrated through Dick’s mind. He waited for an answer that didn’t come. Instead, Bruce’s hand moved upwards and it took him a few seconds to realise that Bruce was opening the buttons of his own shirt. His breath got stuck in his throat. Maybe there _was_ an answer after all.

Bruce’s motions were much more fluent and steadier than his and it made Dick wonder how often he had done something similar. The thought made him clench his teeth before he shook it off. It didn’t matter anymore. It didn’t matter because there was only one person Bruce would do this thing, all these things, with left.

It also didn’t matter because all of his thoughts trickled away when he felt Bruce’s mouth against his naked chest kissing its way down the line between his ribs. He let out a soft moan that only grew louder when Bruce’s tongue circled his bellybutton dipping into it.

Dick shivered arching his back without thinking about it. Without thinking at all. He reached more or less blindly to grab Bruce’s head, his hair silky between his fingers, pulling Bruce towards him. He managed to rise enough to let their lips crash in the air, though, he also managed to bite the inside of his cheek in the process. Well, some sacrifices had to be made.

Their kiss was long and deep, neither of them willing to decrease the pressure, neither of them willing to retreat.

It was only when Dick felt his leg sliding down the side of the cushion and inevitably to the floor that he gasped pulling back. His breath and heart racing, he put one hand on Bruce’s shoulder holding onto him, regaining some sense. “Maybe… we should go to your room,” Dick murmured with a half smile.

“Maybe… we should.”

~

Yes, the king-size bed was much better than the couch that had got smaller with every passing minute.

Dick let himself fall onto the mattress pulling Bruce with him.

Crossing the room, they had both lost their jeans accidentally. Okay, maybe not _that_ accidentally. The tight jeans hadn’t seemed that much of a good idea anymore when he had been struggling to get it off his body. Bruce had had at least enough dignity to only smirk and not laugh. Dick found comfort in the thought that his face probably couldn’t redden more than it had already done. Well, and he knew not to redo this mistake in the future.

“The jeans did look good on you,” Bruce whispered between kisses, his hand running across Dick’s back. “I almost didn’t want to let you go outside because of it. Wouldn’t want to give anyone a wrong idea.”

Dick’s heart skipped a beat, his mind dizzy. If he hadn’t already felt heat radiating through his body he would have in that moment. His skin prickled, sensitive in a way that every new contact flickered through his nerves and muscles like silent flames.

He bit back a moan when he felt Bruce’s hand slipping beneath the band of his boxers giving his ass a light squeeze.

“You know that I’m yours,” Dick breathed before shoving their hips together. He heard Bruce groaning, voice beautifully breathless, and the friction send a lightning through his body, almost enough to let him see stars. “ _C’mon_ , fuck me!”

Bruce tensed at his words, something flickering through his eyes, his hand moving upwards to rest on Dick’s lower back. Dick watched as he opened his mouth slowly as if he wasn’t sure how to begin. “Do you… know-“

“ _Oh_ , don’t make this embarrassing.” Dick narrowed his eyes pressing his index finger against Bruce’s lips to hinder him from saying something he might regret later. “I’ve read about it and I want it. I want _you_ , okay?”, he said lowering his finger although his voice almost jumped to a plea in the end.

“I… wouldn’t want to hurt you,” Bruce rasped sounding tormented and it made Dick’s heart leap and warm up at the same time.

Dick let his hand brush Bruce’s jaw caressing his cheek with light fingertips and for a second it felt as if Bruce was tilting his head against it, a sigh leaving his mouth, almost inaudible. “I know you won’t,” Dick murmured. “Even if you do, I can take it. It’s alright.”

He resisted the urge to avert his eye preparing himself mentally for the inevitable question, wetting his lips before opening them. “W-well, you do have lube, right?”

For a few moments there were only their hasty breaths, their gazes locked. His heart racing inside his chest, Dick didn’t dare to say more and Bruce didn’t look like he would say something, jaw tense, eyes unblinking. At first Dick thought he’d imagined it when Bruce’s face lit up slightly, the tension dissolving like melting snow in spring.

Then, however, Bruce moved pressing him down into the mattress. Dick frowned until he watched Bruce leaning over him, not to touch him and at any other moment Dick would have been disappointed. As it was, he felt sparks dancing through his body because Bruce reached into the bottom drawer of the bedside table to pull out a bottle of something that looked suspiciously like… lube.

Dick felt his heartbeat accelerating, his insides fluttering, mostly in a good way, though. He smiled.

“Alright,” Bruce breathed, drawing out the word as if it were part of a foreign language. Dick swallowed hard when Bruce opened the lid but then a thought flew through his mind. He inhaled shakily.

“You… don’t have to if you don’t want to, you know,” Dick managed, his mouth dry, and he moved to push himself in a sitting position.

“Don’t move,” Bruce growled and Dick’s muscles seemed to disappear for a second letting him fall back. He wet his lips, limbs hot and heavy, waiting for some kind of explanation, an answer. It came only about a minute later.

When Bruce leaned over him, this time coming dangerously close with his knee to Dick’s crotch, it was to touch him. He let his lips brush against Dick’s chin, the line of his jaw, his cheek, breath hot against his skin, almost burning him. His insides felt as if they were burning anyway.

“It’s dangerous to be this naïve, Dick,” Bruce breathed, voice almost too low to understand the words but somehow they echoed through Dick’s mind like screams. “I want you. Of course I want you.” A dark chuckle danced through the air. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

Dick’s eyelids fluttered shut. He didn’t know how he should be able to form words, let alone speak them. He did, though. “Then come and get me.”

It didn’t even take Bruce a second to tighten his fingers around Dick’s chin lifting his head just enough to let their lips melt together. Dick couldn’t say how long it lasted but sometime during the kiss he felt Bruce pulling his boxers down. Sometime during the last minutes Bruce also had to have used the bottle of lube because the fingers brushing over his ass until circling his entrance felt cool and slick.

When Bruce pushed one finger in he almost bit his lip, breath hitching. It felt odd, not quite good but not really bad either. His muscles tensed involuntarily, clenching around Bruce and for a moment he wondered if it would actually work.

“You need to relax,” Bruce murmured against his lips and Dick opened his eyes exhaling slowly. The expression in Bruce’s face was soft, his eyes warm, not at all callous or stern like he sometimes pretended to be. Dick felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and his muscles loosened.

Bruce began to move the finger inside him, soon adding another, scissoring them slightly. Inhaling the dense, hot air, Dick felt himself jerking with the movement and somehow it already felt much better. When Bruce kissed him again, he even moaned a bit, his erection stirring, heat pooling somewhere around his stomach.

“I…,” began Dick swallowing hard. “I think… I’m ready.”

Bruce blinked slowly, eyes hazy, before he nodded. When the fingers slid out of him, Dick felt another wave of heat although it dissolved quickly leaving him panting and feeling oddly, painfully empty.

It _did_ hurt a bit when Bruce pushed into him, at first just the tip of his cock but slowly going further. And _damn_ , he’d thought he had been stretched but somehow there was still some way to go until he felt as if there were not a single bit of space left in him.

It did hurt but somehow there was also a tingling heat rushing through his insides, especially as he felt more of Bruce’s skin pressing against him, as he heard him moaning slightly. They were so close that he almost didn’t know where his body ended and Bruce’s began.

Dick blinked hastily, gasping, trying to get used to the feeling. He wouldn’t have said that he was ready when Bruce began to move but that didn’t hinder him from moaning out loud. 

Bruce set a slow rhythm at first but increased it when Dick reached out to clench his fingers around his upper arm pulling him closer.

Dick felt heat building up in his lower body, electricity running through his veins whenever Bruce touched a certain spot inside him. It didn’t feel like he’d expected it to be but it felt incredible nonetheless. Maybe it felt incredible because of that.

And _maybe_ it felt incredible because it was Bruce.

When Bruce curled his fingers around his erection, he would have cried out, hadn’t he bit his lips ripping the skin in the process. For a few seconds there was the metallic taste of blood lingering in his mouth but he didn’t notice it, not really. Because Bruce began to stroke his length and combined with the increased fraction inside him, it was enough to send him flying.

His vision disappeared for a moment as white fire flickered through him. In the next moment every tension left his body as the waves of his orgasms slowed down, faded.

He did notice when Bruce came about a minute later but he was too tired to do anything other than blinking, feeling as if floating on a cloud.

He felt tired and exhausted as if he’d run a marathon, his muscles cramping slightly from the positions they had been forced into, but the warmth spreading through his body from his heart made it seem like a small price to pay.

His eyes still closed, his hand _, slowly,_ reached until it found what it had sought. Bruce let him entangle their fingers and it felt right. It felt warm. It felt good.

For a second, everything was fine.

~

~

~

**Author's Note:**

> *I imagined the car to be similar to a McLaren 600LT (as I'm no expert with cars, take this idea with a grain of salt)


End file.
